Daredevil Rumors Start Early
Posted 03.18.11 by Ryan
20th Century Fox hired director David Slade (30 Days of Night, Twilight Saga: Eclipse) to helm a new Daredevil movie only a few days ago and rumors about the production have already begun. Slade won the job by offering Fox a pitch on what he wanted the movie to be — reportedly a sequel or "continuation of the Daredevil saga" that began with 2003's Daredevil — but with no screenwriter hired yet, rumors seem incredibly early for the project, but include story details and casting possibilities.
Moviehole suggests that Slade's pitch to Fox was a "close cousin" of some of the other superhero movies in development, such as Marvel's slate of Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Moviehole's source is an unnamed director who was also reportedly up for the job and claims that Slade's Daredevil will be "a bit Batman Begins" with the villain learning "who Daredevil really is and tries to destroy him — but not via the usual methods."
THR's sources aren't far off from Moviehole's, claiming that the new Daredevil will be an adaptation of the "Born Again" storyline written by Frank Miller and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli that ran in the comic book series during the mid-1980s. The seven-issue storyline followed Daredevil as his life is ruined after the Kingpin learns of his secret identity of lawyer Matt Murdock.
Using the "Born Again" storyline will certainly be a positive for Daredevil and comic book fans, but casting will also be a large part of fans' acceptance or rejection of the adaptation. While it again is too early for any real casting to begin, rumors already have several actors filling the role.
The same Moviehole report claims that "there's some talk" that Slade might cast Robert Pattinson, whom Slade worked with on Eclipse. Even the report suggests that this is just "talk," but with the Twilight series coming to an end, some studio is going to try to cast Pattinson in another franchise soon enough.
ShowBiz Spy, not exactly a bastion of hardened journalism, reports that Bradley Cooper is being lined up for the role, while movie blog Lost in the Multiplex suggests that Garrett Hedlund is "interested" in the role.
While it's likely that Cooper's name could come up during the casting process (Pattinson even more so), and that Hedlund could be interested (but so will many other young actors), a script will likely have to be written before any real casting decisions are made.
Still, that doesn't mean you couldn't suggest your own Daredevil actor in the comments below. Just, leave Ben Affleck's name out of it.